The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 13, 1980
Filed:
Oct. 06, 1978
James P Gordon, Rumson, NJ (US);
Robert E Nahory, Lincroft, NJ (US);
Martin A Pollack, Westfield, NJ (US);
John M Worlock, Fair Haven, NJ (US);
Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
Devices constructed according to the present invention provide low noise avalanche photodetectors. The devices are comprised of a sequence of at least four layers of semiconductor material of alternating opposed conductivity. In a first embodiment the layers form alternating homojunctions and heterojunctions at the interface between adjacent layers, and the bandgap of the layers on either side of the homojunctions decreases in the direction of the propagating signal. In another embodiment the layers form heterojunctions at the interfaces between adjacent layers; the layers are grouped into a sequence of pairs of layers where the bandgap of the two layers in each pair are substantially equal; and the bandgap of the layers in the sequence of pairs of layers decreases in the direction of the propagating signal. The effect of the structure of the multilayer device is to create traps for one sign of carrier and to prevent the trapped carrier from avalanching through amplification regions of the device.